Letters: Turnpike Speeds, Late Fees, Driver Detention, Trucker GPS Units

Turnpike Speeds

This is a case of the “haves” vs. the “have nots” and the “won’t haves” and refers to the story headlined “Ohio Turnpike Raises Top Speed Despite Trucking’s Objections” (1-3, p. 4).

While I fully support the Ohio Trucking Association’s stance on limiting speeds to 65 mph or lower, I still am a proponent for same-speed roads because split speeds promote obvious obstacles to safety on the roads. Couple this with the fact that those trucks governed at 65 mph or even lower will now become even larger targets for free-wheeling autos and trucks with no speed limiters.

I agree with Larry Davis, president of the Ohio Trucking Association, in that had the Ohio Turnpike Commission thought this speed change through, their enticement to get truckers off the two-lanes and onto the toll road should have come from reduced tolls and not higher speed limits.

The costs to set these changes, in my opinion, will far outweigh the commission’s perceived benefit.

Perhaps the turnpike commission did not want to hear about rate reductions?

Chris Simmons

Senior Vice President

Craig Transportation Co.

Perrysburg, Ohio

Late Fees

I’d like to comment on William Feld’s op-ed in the Jan. 3 issue, “Opinion: Late Fees and Supply Chain Integrity” (p. 9). Feld is right in his observation that communication is needed in order to assess the fees in the supply chain, i.e., late fees imposed upon missing a scheduled delivery appointment.

In taking his line of thinking a little further, besides the legality of these fees being questionable because the carrier probably was not given notice of them before accepting the load, they have been assessed arbitrarily, and in many cases, the carrier is notified many months after the load has been delivered — and after any facts that dispute these claims have been long forgotten.

These late charges actually are a sneaky way of getting guaranteed on-time delivery without paying for it. I would like to propose to the transportation community that:

• Our contracts include a provision that puts a ceiling on what can be charged back.

• A customer must give us a list of his/her customers that has these charges.

• We place a premium on these shipments to cover these charges because it’s not a matter of “if” we’re late but “when” we’re late, as it will happen.

Feld mentioned a rules tariff for this purpose. Unless otherwise agreed, our rates are based on “reasonable dispatch.” Guaranteed on-time service is a higher rate.

While we all strive for timely deliveries, we are sometimes held up by forces beyond our control. Knowing there are penalties on certain shipments, we may stage the load differently. For example, we may place it to be first off at the beginning of a receiving day so as not to be compromised by other deliveries.

It is neither logical nor feasible to be responsible for a liability that we are unaware of — and did not agree to.

Debra Maass

President

Hannic Freight Forwarders Inc.

Plainfield, Ill.

Driver Detention

I just finished reading with interest your “Opinion” column by Herb Schmidt, “Driver Dock Detention Costs All” (1-17, p. 7).

He was right about most reasons for delays at shipper/receiver docks [e.g., lack of manpower, poorly maintained equipment and overbooked dock space]. After 40-plus years driving — and the last 25 years as an owner-operator in the Chicago area — I guess I’ve heard just about every lame excuse for holding me hostage at their facility.

Lack of honesty and lack of good communication among drivers, trucking companies and customers are inexcusable in today’s technological world. As an intermodal driver, I can say that delays at rail yards are commonplace and frequent. Equipment repairs and chassis switches take a lot of time and disrupt most plans to make appointments on schedule.

These delays must be reported to dispatch as soon as possible and relayed to the customer so appropriate action can be taken. If I showed up late for a scheduled appointment and the customer was unaware of a problem, the result was seldom good for me. If the load wasn’t rescheduled or refused, I often would be placed at the bottom of the “live load” list — and God help you at the end of the list when it’s a 24-hour facility.

As an owner-operator for a large regional carrier, I was paid $40 per hour for detention. Sounds good, right? Not hardly, because the first two hours are free to the customer. Do the math — if I’m there for three hours, I’m compensated $40. It averages out to $13.33 an hour. Wow. Try to pay for a truck and all related expenses and support a family when that happens all week long.

As I mentioned, communication and honesty are very important.

If the load isn’t ready — tell the driver. If there’s an equipment shortage or problem — tell the driver on arrival. Don’t just let him sit and wait while his reload appointment comes and goes.

Be considerate. It doesn’t help to post a sign saying “Don’t ask about wait times.” A driver with a day cab can’t just pull out of the dock and sleep for 10 hours.

Two to eight hours to load or receive a palletized shipment is totally unacceptable. I would usually tell a bad customer like that to have a nice life. Why? Because I’d never go back, and I’d pass the bad news along to fellow drivers.

We can be thankful that Anne Ferro, head of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is addressing this age-old problem. Unfortunately, I still foresee long lines and long delays at many shippers, big and small.

The good news is that I retired from this crazy business last November. I’ll miss a lot of fine drivers and some management, but I’ll never miss those problematic customers.

They know who they are.

James Schmitt

Owner

J&M Trucking Inc.

Bolingbrook, Ill.

Trucker GPS Units

This is my personal observation and is in no way an official company viewpoint on the subject of the story “Garmin Unveils New Trucker GPS Units” (1-17, p. 9).

I read your article on Garmin’s new devices for truckers and wondered why any company would come out with handheld devices of any kind for truckers when various government bodies have made such an issue of them and are banning cell-phone use while driving. Isn’t that when drivers would likely be using them?

Bill Warren

Head

Competitive Intelligence Center

Navistar

Melrose Park, Ill.